In the oil and gas industry, ground cover mats are used to temporarily support heavy equipment and transport trucks over wet or disturbed ground in remote locations. These mats tend to have a high weight per area and need to cover significant areas. Accordingly, the mats are provided in manageable sizes and weights, transported to remote locations, interlocked together for use, and thereafter disassembled.
Prior art interlocking systems for ground cover mats or panels are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,348,459, 3,572,224, and 4,594,829. These systems rely on intricately shaped connectors formed on the edges of the mats or panels for interlocking effect. Besides the need to specifically adapt the mats for these connectors, such systems have other potential limitations. First, it is difficult to engineer the connectors with sufficient strength to support heavy equipment. Second, the connectors may become inoperable if clogged with dirt or deformed under loading. Third, the abutting edges of the mats must be precisely aligned to mate the connectors. Finally, the connectors do not readily accommodate relative rotation of the mats as may be expected on soft ground surfaces.
Accordingly, there is thus a need in the art for an interlocking system for ground cover mats that mitigates the deficiencies of the prior art.